The Internet as a Tool for Effectively Understanding the Engineering Profession

The Internet as a tool for acquiring information from global sources has proved invaluable to engineering students worldwide as an aid to research in many areas of their study. Engineering departments, for their part, have responded by preparing courses that develop the skills of their students in using this technology. The focus of this paper deals with the use of the internet in teaching students about the engineering profession. By the end of this course, students should have an understanding of the various engineering disciplines, an awareness of engineering ethics and have the ability to effectively evaluate a case representative of a well known engineering project. In addition, students with little or no prior knowledge of the Internet will have developed and honed their abilities in using it as an effective research tool. Furthermore, the influences upon students to follow an engineering career, prior to freshman engineering is examined, as well as difficulties they encounter during the learning process in the Engineering Profession course. Course quality is discussed with a view to understanding accreditation needs and understanding the need for examining the learning outcomes of students.